Distance Selling Protection and Vinted

vitamin_joe

so, I bought an item advertised as Men's XL waistcoat. It arrived and it's tiny. The label says XL, but I expect it's made for a woman. It's 18.5 inches pit-to-pit, and a men's XL would be at least 22 inches.

The seller isn't communicating. I've raised a case with vinted, and they want to know how the item differs from the description. I've sent a photo of myself wearing it- it's ridiculously small- but that is apparently not enough.

I'm not sure if I have any other avenue to explore, such as contacting my bank to get the transaction refunded? I expect that would result in a ban from the site, though I'm not hugely fussed at this point. 

It's the principle really- this is incorrectly described in my opinion. It's nowhere near fitting me; it's not the usual slight differences that you can get between brands.

The other thing I'm considering is sending a photo of the pit-to-pit measurement. This clearly shows that it is not in the range of men's XL sizes. But this is all a big faff.

I'm new to vinted, and my overall sense is Caveat Emptor. You don't get much customer service, and also you're liable for return postage in every case. Can't really see how that is fair, but them's the breaks. Much prefer ebay. It's not perfect but at least they have systems in place to protect the buyer, and sometimes the seller.

unforeseen

TBH Vinted looks like just a platform for people to sell their old stuff. Any contract would be with the seller, not Vinted. I'm guessing most (all? ) sellers are private individuals rather than businesses. 

Browntoa

Their terms and conditions seem to indicate that if an items doesn't fit that's between you and the seller and that "you should list it on your vinted for sale " 

soolin

did they give measurements at all, XL on a seemingly small item rather suggests a Far east size, so the listing would be correct - unless they specifically gave the relevant measurements.

I haven't used Vinted so i can't comment further about their policies, however on ebay it would be suggested that you do your research first-there is no defined 'XL' size at all but it is a poor seller that doesn't state sizes to assist a buyer.

unforeseen

 it is a poor seller that doesn't state sizes to assist a buyer.

I would think that a lot of sellers on these sort of sites have no experience of selling. They just see a simple way of getting rid of their tat rather than skipping. 
You see similar adverts on Facebook market pages. Lack of detail because inexperienced people think a picture and details off the label are sufficient

soolin

unforeseen said:

 it is a poor seller that doesn't state sizes to assist a buyer.

I would think that a lot of sellers on these sort of sites have no experience of selling. They just see a simple way of getting rid of their tat rather than skipping. 
You see similar adverts on Facebook market pages. Lack of detail because inexperienced people think a picture and details off the label are sufficient

Lack of measurements on some of the sites aimed at casual sellers is a big problem, locally my groups often use random items like a can of coke, their pet cat or a banana to illustrate the size of something, I am really not kidding either!  I don't believe anyone owns a tape measure anymore. 

vitamin_joe

unforeseen said:

 it is a poor seller that doesn't state sizes to assist a buyer.

I would think that a lot of sellers on these sort of sites have no experience of selling. They just see a simple way of getting rid of their tat rather than skipping. 

Definitely noticed that on Vinted as opposed to ebay. Lots of listings with one photo, often taken in poor lighting, or with blurry camera shake. Sometimes you can't see any details, just the outline. You're basically being expected to buy a silhouette.

Also about 50% of people don't reply if you ask for basic measurements. I think, "Do you want to sell this or not?"

vitamin_joe

thanks all. Y'know, I think this fish has swam away from me, I'm just going to let it go. Lesson learned.

I'm ok with it really. At least I know how it works on Vinted, or at least fails to work, without too much of a monetary loss. Just means I'll be super-cautious on there if I buy stuff again.

vitamin_joe

soolin said:

unforeseen said:

 it is a poor seller that doesn't state sizes to assist a buyer.

I would think that a lot of sellers on these sort of sites have no experience of selling. They just see a simple way of getting rid of their tat rather than skipping. 
You see similar adverts on Facebook market pages. Lack of detail because inexperienced people think a picture and details off the label are sufficient

Lack of measurements on some of the sites aimed at casual sellers is a big problem, locally my groups often use random items like a can of coke, their pet cat or a banana to illustrate the size of something, I am really not kidding either!  I don't believe anyone owns a tape measure anymore. 

I can understand people using a can of coke as a guide for scale*; it's a standard size isn't it? But using your cat?! I'd send a message, "could you just measure your cat please"

"The wardrobe is eight cats high, and my cat is as long as two standard bananas"

*edit- not for a shirt though, obviously

Spoonie_Turtle

vitamin_joe said:

unforeseen said:

 it is a poor seller that doesn't state sizes to assist a buyer.

I would think that a lot of sellers on these sort of sites have no experience of selling. They just see a simple way of getting rid of their tat rather than skipping. 

Definitely noticed that on Vinted as opposed to ebay. Lots of listings with one photo, often taken in poor lighting, or with blurry camera shake. Sometimes you can't see any details, just the outline. You're basically being expected to buy a silhouette.

Also about 50% of people don't reply if you ask for basic measurements. I think, "Do you want to sell this or not?"

I'm frequently appalled at the number of people expecting to sell clothes on eBay with listings exactly like that to be honest!  It's not as bad as it used to be, so it is the exception rather than the norm, but it's still far too common.  Funnily enough I don't bother with those.

theoretica

Reminds me of a time I asked the seller for measurements and got the reply 'it is labelled size 12, but sizes are often different on vintage clothes so you should judge on measurements and not rely on the size label'.  Well yes, that would be why I just asked for the measurements you still have not provided...